She noticed the man beside her quietly getting up at dawn.
She didn't wake up with him.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but the light filtering through the curtains still lacked the brightness of a typical morning. Her sleepiness gone, she fumbled for her underwear, got out of bed barefoot, and walked to the window to pull open the floor-to-ceiling curtains. Before her stretched a gloomy scene of misty rain.
The sky, the lake, and the city buildings on the opposite bank were all enveloped in this gloom.
Yet, her mood didn't turn gloomy; instead, she rather enjoyed the feeling.
A chill swept over her.
Embracing the cool air, she walked out of the bedroom and leaned on the balcony railing, gazing around, not worried about being seen.
This was a villa on Mercer Island in the middle of Lake Washington, located in Seattle. It was a mansion spanning over two acres, surrounded by lush greenery, and the city across the large lake was still shrouded in rain.
She had majored in advertising and art in college, and it had been a long time since she had put pen to paper, but now she felt an urge to sketch the surrounding scenery.
After all, it didn't belong to her.
At 33 years old, she didn't feel like she was getting old, but at this moment, a sense of frustration welled up.
How wonderful it would be to own a house like this.
Just like her fantasies after leaving campus: establishing her own advertising company, owning a beautiful house, free from material constraints, living a life of freedom.
Then came the gap between ideals and reality.
In school, she was a cheerleader, a homecoming queen, the object of envy and jealousy among girls, and the target of admiration and pursuit by boys.
Upon entering society, she suddenly became nothing.
She thought back to yesterday afternoon, when she heard the young man's invitation, so matter-of-factly. She felt he was too domineering, yet she couldn't muster much resistance.
She must have yearned for something.
A yearning for a world she had never touched.
So, after work, she specifically went home to change clothes, waited for a car to pick her up, and resignedly got in, fantasizing about what the upcoming night would be like.
The outcome still exceeded her imagination.
Dinner was on his Boeing 767, an experience she'd never had before, feeling almost fantastical.
It was a very luxurious plane.
Yet, she didn't sense much showing off from him.
Perhaps, the young man, already surrounded by so many accolades, didn't need to show off anything anymore.
It was just a natural occurrence.
Just like, well, how matter-of-factly he 'invited' her.
It was as if all of Hollywood belonged to him.
He was the king.
He could have anything he wanted.
A small, inconspicuous woman like her, faced with the king's demands, didn't even have the courage to feign modesty.
After dinner, the plane had already landed in Seattle under the night sky.
The airport was in Renton, south of the Great Lake. Leaving the airport, they boarded a speedboat nearby, crossed Lake Washington, and then entered this mansion.
It even felt a bit like coming home from work.
However, it wasn't the kind of commute where you spend two gruelling hours stuck in traffic, arriving home utterly exhausted.
It was very smooth.
Although...
Well, this place was indeed thousands of miles from Los Angeles.
As she was lost in endless thoughts, a thick cotton bathrobe was suddenly wrapped around her.
She turned around to see the man's gentle smile.
Allowing herself to be enveloped by the bathrobe, and with his arm around her waist, she hesitated for a moment. Then, instead of leaning back slightly, she leaned forward and gave the man a fleeting kiss on the lips, saying, "Morning".
"Morning", Simon said, looking at the woman whose brown hair was now damp with rain. "I really don't want to disturb you enjoying the view, but trust me, getting a cold is not fun at all".
"It's beautiful here", she replied, unsure if it was an explanation or something else. She paused, then looked into the man's eyes and asked, "So, what are our plans for today?"
"First, breakfast, then back to Los Angeles".
"Huh?"
Simon patiently said, "I'm sorry, but I'm very busy, and I probably can't spend the weekend here with you".
She really wanted to say that she could spend the weekend here alone.
However, that seemed a bit abrupt.
She could only nod obediently.
Simon looked at the woman's damp hair again and said, "You should still take a shower first. Don't really catch a cold. I'll wait for you downstairs".
Pulled by the man, she left the balcony and entered the bathroom. As he closed the door, she finally mustered the courage to invite, "Do you want to come along?"
Simon smiled and shook his head, reaching out to close the bathroom door for the woman.
More than half an hour later, Sela Ward emerged from the bedroom, already dressed in yesterday's black jacket paired with a belted tube skirt, which accentuated her figure.
Women in black often make men hesitate, and she had deliberately worn all black yesterday.
But it had little effect on him; the man seemed to rather like it.
She slowly walked down the stairs, her hand on the banister, curiously glancing around.
Downstairs, she saw a young woman in a light blue business suit tidying the arrangements on the living room sofa. Noticing her presence, the girl greeted her with polite yet distant tone, "Good morning, Ms. Ward".
She casually withdrew her hand, nodded, and replied, "Morning, B".
This was one of his private jet's flight attendants, blonde, tall, and young. He called her 'B', and there was another one he called 'A'. The man had casually introduced them last night as Becky and Allison. He seemed to prefer these concise names.
She wondered if there were also 'C' and 'D'.
There probably were.
And herself.
Hmm, she should be 'S'.
However, he hadn't called her that, nor did he seem to like calling her by her name, let alone using affectionate terms like 'honey'. He just spoke, and she knew he was talking to her.
The girl's attitude towards her clearly held indifference and hostility, along with unconcealed envy.
Of course, she knew why.
They were younger and prettier, but he was more interested in her.
Suddenly, she felt a bit proud, and calling the girl 'B' was also intentional.
Enjoying this sense of superiority that she rarely experienced after leaving college, she slightly raised her chin and asked the girl, "Where's Simon?"
Seeing her demeanour, Becky's tone became noticeably colder, yet she professionally replied, "In the dining room, Ms. Ward. Please follow me".
Simon was sitting at the dining table, reading a newspaper.
Seeing her enter, the man greeted her and gestured to Becky, who had followed her in, indicating that breakfast could be served.
Sela Ward sat down opposite Simon, naturally propping up her chin, and asked, "Any interesting news today?"
Simon glanced at the New York Times in his hand again and said, "Saddam Hussein yesterday called on Middle Eastern countries at the Arab Cooperation Council meeting to unite and leverage their unparalleled energy advantages to establish a community of interests capable of rivalling Europe and North America".
Sela Ward blinked a few times, a hint of resentment in her expression, and said, "Do men always become so perfunctory after they get what they want?"
Simon nodded with a 'sombre' expression: "Yes, it's a cruel reality".
Sela Ward wanted to grab something and throw it, but she glanced at the pristine tabletop and gave up, instead asking with a 'self-abandoning' tone, "Is there anything special about this news?"
Simon said lightly, "There's going to be a war".
Sela Ward asked doubtfully, "Why? Just because Middle Eastern countries want to form an energy alliance? The Soviet Union and us have been in a standoff for so many years, and there hasn't been a war".
"This is different", Simon shook his head and explained, "The nations army might not be able to defeat the Soviet Union, but it's very easy to defeat Middle Eastern countries. Besides, there's oil over there".
Sela Ward frowned slightly, then after a moment said, "Simon, do you want war?"
"No, I am a staunch pacifist".
"In that case, Simon, you could try to use your influence to prevent war from happening".
"I believe self-destruction is humanity's destined end, so I won't try to prevent it, because it's inevitable", Simon shook his head, his gaze falling on the newspaper in front of him. Thinking of something, he murmured softly, "War, war never changes".
Sela Ward was momentarily stunned. The few words the young man mumbled to himself made her feel a strange sense of despair and desolation.
There must be a very long story behind that sentence.
However, she had never heard of it.
Allison and Becky served breakfast. Simon closed the newspaper, a smile reappearing on his face, seemingly having forgotten their previous topic. He said to the woman, "I see you really like it here. How about this, you can spend the weekend here, and I'll have someone pick you up tomorrow afternoon".
She had actually thought the same thing, but when the man suggested it, she instinctively shook her head and said, "No, I don't think so. I'd be here alone, and I wouldn't know where to go".
"There are many places you can go. The Space Needle, the University of Washington, Olympic National Park. Oh, and I heard there's a Gum Wall at Pike Place Market. You could go see it and even stick a piece of gum on it yourself".
Sela Ward picked up the cutlery Allison handed her, smiling as she shook her head. "Just thinking about it is disgusting. Besides, it's raining outside. I'll just go back to Los Angeles with you".
After breakfast, the group took a speedboat from Mercer Island in the middle of the lake to Renton Airport, adjacent to the south shore, and boarded a plane back to Los Angeles.
It took less than two hours to go from the continuous rain of Seattle to the bright sunshine of Los Angeles.
Sela Ward disembarked at Los Angeles International Airport and realized that Simon had no intention of leaving the airport with her, only then understanding that he had other plans.
As she left the airport in the car the man had specially called for her, Sela Ward watched another plane roar into the sky from inside the airport, suddenly feeling as if her pumpkin carriage and glass slippers had all vanished.
Cinderella could still wait for her prince.
For him, she would probably just be a fleeting acquaintance.
That hateful man!
From Seattle to Los Angeles, and then from Los Angeles to New York, a continuous flight time of over six hours, Simon did not waste. He spent the entire journey reading various documents prepared by Cersei Capital.
After a period of negotiations, Cersei Capital reached an agreement with Blackstone Group to acquire a 50% stake in BlackRock for $75 million. The $3 billion in funds managed by Blackstone Financial Management and Lawrence Fink's team would be transferred entirely to Cersei Capital.
In addition, Janette had re-planned Cersei Capital's subsidiaries. Currently, three confirmed subsidiaries were Cersei Fund Management, Apollo Management, and BlackRock Asset Management. Cersei Fund Management was naturally Cersei Capital's most direct subsidiary, while the other two companies were named by Simon based on information from his memory.
BlackRock, of course, goes without saying. Apollo Management also existed in the original timeline.
In terms of equity structure, all three subsidiaries adopt a model of joint ownership between the parent company, Cersei Capital, and the operating teams, while also having their respective business focuses.
Cersei Fund Management primarily engages in financial hedging, Apollo Management is responsible for alternative investments such as leveraged buyouts and vulture investments, and BlackRock Asset Management handles mainstream low-risk investment businesses like securities, stocks, and fixed income.
After the establishment of the three subsidiaries, sub-funds 6 to 10 were once again completely controlled by Cersei Capital, with funds allocated to each subsidiary based on actual circumstances.
The greatest advantage of doing this is that the funds raised by Cersei Capital are still nominally held by sub-funds 6 to 10, with the various subsidiary teams only responsible for managing them.
If a subsidiary team experiences losses or other issues, Cersei Capital can flexibly recall funds to prevent the situation from worsening. Furthermore, it can even directly disband the subsidiary team and liquidate the subsidiary. At the same time, the funds will not be lost due to the subsidiary's instability.
This adjustment was actually inspired by Janette's experience with the acquisition of BlackRock.
BlackRock's funds were raised independently. When Lawrence Fink's team wanted to collectively jump ship, it was difficult for Blackstone Group to pull the rug out from under them, so they could only choose to compromise and sell the company's shares.
Wall Street is closely monitoring Cersei Capital's recent series of moves, and investment intentions from various investors are also very active. Clearly, many people expect Cersei Capital to continue creating the profit miracles of Simon's financial operations in recent years.
Facing the expectations within the industry, Simon didn't feel much pressure.
Because Simon clearly knew one thing: Cersei Capital didn't need to continuously create miracles. This company only needed to produce a performance that surpassed most of its Wall Street peers, and it would continue to grow and expand in the future.
With the advantage of foresight for over two decades and the management of a team of outstanding talents, Simon was very confident in achieving this goal.
In addition to the Cersei Fund Management and BlackRock Asset Management teams, Janette had also recruited the M&A business team from Drexel Burnham Lambert, which filed for bankruptcy in early January, to form the core of Apollo Management. The team leader, Leon Black, quickly abandoned his original plan to go solo and led his team to join Cersei Capital after receiving their invitation and a promise of a 30% stake.
Everyone is smart. If they went solo, because of their recent work experience at the bankrupt Drexel Burnham Lambert, Black's team would find it difficult to secure much funding from investors in the short term.
In contrast, Cersei Capital directly promised Leon Black an initial operating capital of $1 billion and had already prepared their next phase of work: vulture investing in the still turbulent US junk bond market.
The total size of the US $200 billion junk bond market includes a significant portion that is still well-guaranteed for repayment.
However, due to the overall deteriorating bond market conditions, many bonds with repayment capacity have plummeted in price. As long as these bonds can be identified and bought at prices far below their book value, investors can reap very substantial returns in the bond liquidation process once the economic situation improves and companies recover.
The basic idea of vulture investing is to find valuable assets from a pile of financial ruins that seem to be on the verge of disappearing.
Janette had conducted extensive research on the US junk bond market last year, accumulating a lot of data, which is why she specifically discussed vulture investing with Lawrence Fink at the Rebuild family's cocktail party a while ago.
However, when it comes to understanding the US junk bond market, probably no one can surpass the Drexel Burnham Lambert team.